A view of the exterior of Ards House near Creeslough in County Donegal. Ards House (later Ard Mhuire Capuchin Friary) was formerly the residence of the Stewart-Bam family. The house and demesne were taken over by the Irish Land Commission in 1927. It was acquired by the Capuchin Order in March 1930. The Order changed the name of the old Stewart-Bam house to Ard Mhuire which became a theological seminary. The first community consisted of Fr. Colman Griffin OFM Cap. (Guardian), Fr. Patrick Kelleher OFM Cap., Fr. Andrew Carew OFM Cap. and Br. Fidelis Rice OFM Cap. It took some time to convert Ards House into a Capuchin friary. A power plant was built for electric light and central heating was installed. A large fire in December 1944 caused considerable damage to the old house and the decision was made in the mid-1950s to demolish the residence and build a new friary and church. At this point, the mansion was in a terrible state of repair – the lead roof was developing cracks and was leaking and the oldest part of the building, the elaborate façade, was crumbling. The new Capuchin Friary at Ard Mhuire was formally opened on 13 November 1966. The friary overlooks the shores of Sheephaven Bay and now offers retreats, conferences, seminars, and periods of rest and relaxation, reflection, prayer and holidays.
Clipping of an article titled ‘Ards House: now Ard Mhuire’ published in the 'Derry Journal'. The article explores (in some detail) the history of Ards House and the early years of its occupation by the Capuchin friars.
A photocopy of an article titled ‘Ards House’ published in 'The Father Mathew Record' (Feb. 1967), pp 17-24. The article was written by Edward MacIntyre with an introduction by Fr. Benedict Cullen OFM Cap. The article provides a history of Ards House and the former Stewart-Bam estate. The article headings are as follows: The Lifford Inquisition, John (‘half-hanged’) MacNaughton, The builder of Ards House, Road from Letterkenny, Magistrate, Beggard the Estate, Uncle of Lord Castlereagh, Land Acts, Chapel and Choir, and A Greater Landlord. The article also publishes two images of Lady Ena Stewart and the staff of Ards House.
An article on the history of the Wray family in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The Wrays were the owners of the Ards Estate before it was purchased by the Stewarts in 1781. It is noted that in about 1700 William Wray ‘bought 5,000 acres of land between Dunfanaghy and Doe from William Sampson’. The article adds: 'In 1781 the estate was sold to Mr Alexander Stewart, brother of the first Marquess of Londonderry and uncle of the infamous Lord Castlereagh, for the sum of £13,250 in order to meet the owner’s debts'. An appendix to the article includes some brief notes on the Stewarts of Ards compiled by Fr. T.J. Walsh, a diocesan priest in Cork.
A postcard print of the main street in Ardgroom, a village on the Beara Peninsula in County Cork. The image is credited to Kennelly Photoworks, Ashe Street, Tralee, County Kerry.
An image of Ardboe High Cross in County Tyrone. A typescript annotation on the reverse of the print reads 'High Cross at Ardboe / said to be the finest example in Ireland'.
Photographic prints of a ‘fingerpost’ road sign noting the direction and distance to Ard Mhuire Capuchin Friary (2¾ miles). The signage is an old-style directional ‘fingerpost’ produced by the Department of Posts and Telegraphs.
Photographic prints of the exterior of Ard Mhuire Friary and members of the Capuchin community bathing in the waters of Sheephaven Bay. The prints are date-stamped on the reverse.
